hers newsletter

Get involved: Sign up today and interact with other Muscle & Fitness Hers readers!

» Free Membership
» Message Boards
» Newsletters
» Special Offers
SIGN UP TODAY!
Enter Your Email Address
| Print Page | Email to Friend

FAT-FIGHTING DUO


Boost your fat-burning ability by stacking these two supplements: Carnitine and Caffeine

By Jim Stoppani, PhD | Photo by Pornchai Mittongtare










The most critical step in peeling away that layer of fat that covers your abs is transporting that fat to the microscopic machinery in cells called mitochondria, where it'll be burned off. But fat needs carnitine to help it get into the mitochondria. Preworkout is one of the best times to take carnitine, as research shows it can increase fat-burning during exercise by almost 25%. It also helps delay muscle fatigue.

While carnitine works to move fat to mitochondria, caffeine works on the fat-loss equation from the other side – prompting more fat to leave the fat cells so carnitine can take it away to be burned.

When adenosine binds to its receptors on fat cells, it prevents fat from leaving. But when caffeine binds to these fat-cell receptors, it allows fat to leave the cells and get burned. Thus, taking caffeine with carnitine enhances the overall fat-burning effect. In fact, Korean scientists found that when trained athletes took carnitine and caffeine together before exercise, they burned more fat and fought fatigue longer than when they took carnitine or caffeine alone.

>> Use them like this: About one hour before workouts, take 1–3 grams of carnitine (in the form of L-carnitine, acetyl-L-carntine, propionyl-L-carnitine or L-carnitine L-tartrate) with 200–400 mg of caffeine in the form of caffeine anhydrous (dry). Don't grab a coffee for your preworkout caffeine kick. Look for supplements that provide caffeine anhydrous for best results.

RELATED ARTICLES:
>> REAL SIMPLE SUPPS
>> GET LEAN WITH PROTEIN
>> SUPPLEMENTAL SAVVY
    

| Print Page | Email to Friend


»4 High-Intensity Workouts
»Building Lean, Powerful Legs
»6 Cool Protein Recipes

Most Popular Articles